In an interview with IGN, Dana's asked about all things UFC, including the upcoming game. Here are extracts from the interview where he talks about the game.
IGN: That's actually the next thing I wanted to talk with you about. It seems like you guys are really doing everything that you possibly can to make sure that this UFC 2009 Undisputed videogame is the best product possible. What can you tell me about me about UFC's commitment to that product?
White: Not just us, but THQ. Let me tell you, I've been involved in a ***** videogame deal, okay. When we bought the company we were married to this deal that we had and we came out with a horrendous game. And, obviously, the success of the UFC and how much we've grown and how big this thing has gotten, that's what it took for us to be able to get another videogame deal – we're not going to blow it again - we wanted to hook up with the right partner.
When all the videogame companies started coming in and talking to us about doing it, when we met with THQ all the guys who were the designers and the marketing guys all started taking jiu-jitsu and muay-thai and literally learning about the UFC – not just about the company and the brand, but about the technique and everything else. That's when we knew that we had the right partners, and we were one-million-percent right. These guys have really gone above and beyond the call of duty to make sure that when we do interviews like this I can literally say, and be 100-percent confident, that this is going to be the best fighting game you've ever seen. No bull****. No, 'hey let's try to sell a bunch'. The UFC brand is going to be here for a long time. THQ is going to be around for a long time. We've really put a lot into this and worked together as partners to make this the best fighting game ever made.
IGN: We've had a fun time speculating over the last few months over what kind of card you're going to put on this spring to really highlight this game being released. What do you guys have planned?
White: The hard part is that everybody asks us about that. People keep saying, 'This game is coming out in spring, what are you going to do? UFC 100 is coming up in July, what do you think you guys going to do?' The reality is we always try to put on great cards and do the best we can. I want to do something cool and crazy for the launch of the game, and we're in talks with THQ to figure out what we can do to really make something fun for the fans.
On my video blog from when we were in England, I kicked the **** out of Michael Bisping in the game, just so you know… just for the record – twice. All the fans online are just like, 'I can't wait for this game to come out.' People are so excited for it. I want to do something cool for the launch, but I don't know what yet.
IGN: Getting back to you and Bisping playing the game…You can read the interview in full on the IGN website
White: I kicked his ass… Twice…
IGN: What was your favorite element of the game?
White: Here's what I think is so amazing about the game: There are so many things you can do, the grappling is amazing. I've seen kids play games. My kids are 6 and 7 and they can play videogames that I can't play. If it isn't ******* Pac-Man, I can't play it. There are so many different moves and so many things you can do on the ground, that, for kids who love to play videogames, this will be an amazing game for them. There are so many different things that you can do, just like mixed martial arts. You get a boxing game and you can only throw a few punches and that's it – there are so many different ways to win in this game.
But, for somebody that's a novice and isn't a big videogame guy like me, I can pick up the joystick and still enjoy playing it and have fun just pushing buttons. So, I think this is a game that's good for everybody – both for hardcore gamers and for guys that just want to pick it up at a party and play sometimes.
IGN: How do you think that this game is going to impact the popularity of UFC, and what do you think it's going to do to educate fans about the intricacies of the sport?
White: I think it's going to be incredible. The thing that we did with this game, when we talked to THQ, we all agreed that this game should be real. It's going to be exactly like the UFC and I think what this is going to do is it's going to educate a lot of people about the ground fighting. Really, the way to learn jiu-jitsu is to do it. If you do jiu-jitsu you get it and you learn it. With the game, people are going to be able to do it without actually doing it and they're going to learn a lot. I think it's going to be great. And, I think it's going to introduce people to all the different fighters.
IGN: Can you tell me, is the roster going to be all guys who are currently fighting? Or, are we going to see some of the guys from UFC's past making an appearance in this game?
White: I think we're going to talk about doing that in the future. When you put this thing together it's so much work, and a lot of the detail in this game was put into making this thing real and making the fighting moves as real and as good as possible – for example, the grappling. Think about how far videogames have come, that you can actually grapple now. You've seen the game; when they grab the arm it doesn't look weird like the two arms are going through each other, you know? It doesn't look like they go through each other. It looks pretty damn real. A lot of the focus was put into building this game and making it right, and now we're going to go out there and change it up and do some fun things in the future games.
